Issues to do with democracy are theoretically topical in Africa but in practice it seems like very little work is done. This school wrestles with the challenges that hinder the practice of democracy worldwide and precisely in Africa. A general survey clearly shows that African background might be a major stumbling block to the full realisation of democracy. The first background is that most African societies enjoyed the rule of the kings and chiefs for a long period hence democracy might be too “foreign” a term to embrace.

“Good governance” is another issue because what people call “good” can be relative. The other serious background is that colonisation. The process of colonisation was never “democratic” but violent and dictatorial. I want to believe that democracy should be blended not to individuals but to the system. However, the challenge we face in Africa is that individuals can strive to be democratic, the system is already corrupted. It is this school’s mandate to redefine some of the universally generalised terms such as “democracy and good governance”.